Honiton: Chamber acts over business rates sting

THE scourge of increased business rates could be halted in Honiton – if traders show a united front. That s the message Honiton and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry is sending worried business owners.

THE scourge of increased business rates could be halted in Honiton - if traders show a united front.

That's the message Honiton and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry is sending worried business owners.

Chairman David Hayler said the five-year review of business premises evaluations "has given rise to a great deal of concern".

The chamber is aiming to collate those concerns and present them, jointly, to the government's Valuation Office with others under the umbrella of the East Devon Chambers' Association.

"Each company, obviously, has to justify its own case but, if they join Honiton and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry's initiative and not divert off on an individual tangent, the huge blanket increases imposed by the new rateable values, together with the suggested local authority's unrealistic multiplier, we will be negotiating head-on and with weight," Mr Hayler told the Herald.

"When companies join the chamber, they will benefit from a qualified valuation agent, who will be engaged to represent those involved in a realistic, balanced manner to mitigate the new charges."

The chamber last week met a presentative during an informal business luncheon, held at The Bird's Nest.

The Herald reported recently how some of the town centre's smallest businesses could be asked to pay in excess of �6,000 for business rates next year.

David Welch, of Surfers Paradise, said the increase could put him out of business.